Sewickley Car Store - How to lose a loyal customer over $35.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

It's good to keep this sort of unacceptable service in the forefront here and let other members know... Thanks for taking the time and doing this. In your case they lost a good customer for a messily $35- shame on them !

I had a very unpleasant experience in the US at a BMW dealership also. In fact I was told lies like our warranty is different in the US and Canada therefore I was given options that in the end cost me $700- something that should have been handled under warranty in the US on the spot.

Anyway ... I no longer speak about it ... bottom line is our plans were to trade in our DD for a x3 BMW this did not happen primarily due to the way my issue was handled ... we got a Mercedes C350 4MATIC instead of the BMW for our DD .... I realize that BMW does not care about this here at a local level if they loose a customer or two etc .. etc... surely somebody at the Head office of BMW should do something about it.

the details can be found here ---->Under IDAHO or go to Post #26

You should copy and past your story in the thread above as well ... not all BMW dealerships are the same, somehow I wish BMW AMG Germany would do something about it.

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by vonwilbs

Sounds like you overreacted and very much contributed to the end of your relationship with SCS. He responded to your request with what he thought was reasonable science and offered to meet you halfway (50%). You really forced a bad interaction when you said his offer was pathetic and a waste of your time. You probably could have recovered all your money if you played it cool and worked it out with them. We all know dealers can be d*ckheads, but so can customers.

I do have little tolerance for poor customer service - guilty as charged!

Before the email in which I told him it was pathetic and he was wasting my time, I did send a previous email indicating that his offer was not acceptable. To this he sent the explanation which still does not make sense. During this whole time they chose to hide behind email instead of having a discussion like a normal professional.

I don't care about recovering the money - at all...that should be obvious. I care about customer service.

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by Rolf-Dieter

It's good to keep this sort of unacceptable service in the forefront here and let other members know... Thanks for taking the time and doing this. In your case they lost a good customer for a messily $35- shame on them !

I had a very unpleasant experience in the US at a BMW dealership also. In fact I was told lies like our warranty is different in the US and Canada therefore I was given options that in the end cost me $700- something that should have been handled under warranty in the US on the spot.

Anyway ... I no longer speak about it ... bottom line is our plans were to trade in our DD for a x3 BMW this did not happen primarily due to the way my issue was handled ... we got a Mercedes C350 4MATIC instead of the BMW for our DD

the details can be found here ---->Under IDAHO or go to Post #26

You should copy and past your story in the thread above as well ... not all BMW dealerships are the same, somehow I wish BMW AMG Germany would do something about it.

Thanks for the support Rolf! I will post in that thread.

Agree 100% on BMW AG needing to be more involved. When you call BMW USA they will flat out tell you that there is no follow-up on your complaint. They link it to the VIN, they send it to the dealer, supposedly do something, but they never get back to you. You can call back in and request an update, but that is not a particularly good system either.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Singletrack

Thanks for the support Rolf! I will post in that thread.

Agree 100% on BMW AG needing to be more involved. When you call BMW USA they will flat out tell you that there is no follow-up on your complaint. They link it to the VIN, they send it to the dealer, supposedly do something, but they never get back to you. You can call back in and request an update, but that is not a particularly good system either.

Very true ... in my case it was like a phone tag issue BMW Canada Customer Service ask me to call BMW USA Customer Service ... and that went back and forth for a spell ... then believe it or not the Service Manager of BMW Idaho Falls called me to fax them my invoice for the wheel since they don't have it on file. I know why they gave me a number not even bothered to put my name on a new wheel invoice. Then after follow up phone calls they ask me to take the invoice with the number to my Canadian Dealership. I did just that ... much later the Canadian Dealership here locally declared my wheel bend LOL naturally it was bend since the Idaho Tire shop (that BMEW took me to) removed my RFT from my Z4 with 2 tire irons leaving deep gauge marks in the rim ... Bottom line the local BMW dealer did not review all the facts, simply declared my wheel bend. This is why I got rid of the Z4 purchased my M3 elsewhere and our DD now is a MB and not a x3 BMW ...

[M3Now!]

Originally Posted by TTBear

I read this post with interest, and with at first, some degree of sympathy for your situation, until I got to the part that said "I reaffirm that I am an important customer".

I don't doubt that you were mistreated to a certain degree, but really......

Really? Understand your point but disagree with you (which is the beauty of forums )

I'm sure the OP was simply shorthanding "I've bought about ten cars from you over the past ten years" to "important customer" when he typed it.

Also, the dealer is nuts to not simply take care of him for $70 as a customer service gesture. They touched it last so there's a good chance they're at fault, and they've made way more than that on him as a customer. Heck, my bank has fixed a problem for about the same amount that was clearly my mistake (and I told them so), but they have enough of my business that they were happy to do it.

In fact, I would be a bit surprised if my local BMW dealer wouldn't take care of it for me, and this is my first purchase from them.

Cheers

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by M3Now!

Really? Understand your point but disagree with you (which is the beauty of forums )

I'm sure the OP was simply shorthanding "I've bought about ten cars from you over the past ten years" to "important customer" when he typed it.

Also, the dealer is nuts to not simply take care of him for $70 as a customer service gesture. They touched it last so there's a good chance they're at fault, and they've made way more than that on him as a customer. Heck, my bank has fixed a problem for about the same amount that was clearly my mistake (and I told them so), but they have enough of my business that they were happy to do it.

In fact, I would be a bit surprised if my local BMW dealer wouldn't take care of it for me, and this is my first purchase from them.

Cheers

You got it, and you understand customer service!

[Richbot]

How about open the hood and see where the oil's coming from when you have a leak?

Expecting loyalty from a dealer is pretty optimistic. Most of them think they'll sell every car they don't sell to you to somebody else. Good luck finding another one to you like better, it sucks having nowhere to go.

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by Richbot

How about open the hood and see where the oil's coming from when you have a leak?

Expecting loyalty from a dealer is pretty optimistic. Most of them think they'll sell every car they don't sell to you to somebody else. Good luck finding another one to you like better, it sucks having nowhere to go.

My father in law did open the hood but could not determine where the leak was coming from. Since it was a slow leak, he decided to monitor religiously and deal with it when he had time and it was convenient for him. I wasn't around or I would have found it. How that is relevant to this interaction escapes me though.

Well if the other dealers suck, then you'll see my review of them on here as well. Unfortunately, you are probably right.

[M3PGH]

Originally Posted by Singletrack

My father in law did open the hood but could not determine where the leak was coming from. Since it was a slow leak, he decided to monitor religiously and deal with it when he had time and it was convenient for him. I wasn't around or I would have found it. How that is relevant to this interaction escapes me though.

Well if the other dealers suck, then you'll see my review of them on here as well. Unfortunately, you are probably right.

I have never had service done at SCS but have worked with there sales and have been extremely disappointed. Bobby Rahal Bmw has always been great! Good luck!

[Team Plutonium]

I can understand the OP's frustration, but I think this is way too much drama over $35. In the end, the dealership doesn't give a sh!t, and BMWNA doesn't give a sh!t either. Trust me, I've been there.... with much bigger issues.

[GeoXP]

This is why I learned to NEVER wait for this kind of stuff. I used to take a pretty laid-back attitude about relatively minor stuff like the small oil drip you developed. Only to get burned somehow by it later. I agree that the customer-service could have and should have been better. But more importantly, whenever you see anything like this again, take it in immediately...

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by M3PGH

I have never had service done at SCS but have worked with there sales and have been extremely disappointed. Bobby Rahal Bmw has always been great! Good luck!

Thanks man - that is great to hear! They are 32m from me, but I think I'm going to give them a shot. I've heard their Merc, Volvo, and Rover service is exceptional. Heard some not-so-great things about A&L and P&W from a neighbor : |

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by SehrSchnell

I can understand the OP's frustration, but I think this is way too much drama over $35. In the end, the dealership doesn't give a sh!t, and BMWNA doesn't give a sh!t either. Trust me, I've been there.... with much bigger issues.

That's exactly why I'm moving on - too much drama. This isn't the first time they've screwed up either. I've had multiple issues with them not doing the proper service items on the M3.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Singletrack

100% agree! It could have been resolved with a simple phone call I'm sure. Unfortunately, that was too big of an inconvenience for them.

As "Jim" Nabors always said ... Shame ... Shame ... Shame .... in the Mayberry Andy Griffith TV Show ... this now would sound great if he could say

Shame ... Shame ... Shame .... to that BMW Service Fellow

[Straight Dave]

everyone is gonna have there two cents but you are the customer and they should go out of there way to make sure they do whatever it takes to make you happy regardless of importance. I hate it when people forget that and lose business over stupid things like that.

[Doctor J]

Originally Posted by SehrSchnell

I can understand the OP's frustration, but I think this is way too much drama over $35. In the end, the dealership doesn't give a sh!t, and BMWNA doesn't give a sh!t either. Trust me, I've been there.... with much bigger issues.

+1

Loyalty is dead in todays world. Nobody gives a sh!t about anyone anymore.

Get used to it OP. I would buy a dealership and run it yourself if you want to be treated like a king

[mkoesel]

I'm not sure that I even fully understand the situation, but I respect your decision to take your business elsewhere.

The thing is, I am willing to guess that there isn't a single BMW dealership in the country where someone hasn't come away with just as poor a custom experience as you have in this case. Or for that matter, we could extend that to any brand of car dealership, and for that matter, any type of product or service that is controlled by, or at the very least financed by, a large corporate entity. There are so many factors at play that it all comes down to dumb luck - happenstance - be it the phase of the moon, the time of the year, who's in control of the Senate, what side of the bed you woke up on, or whatever you want to put your money on. In the end, it all averages out. You win some, you lose some.

[dibxna]

ultimately it was more about the time from the date of service to the date of complaint being filed i believe. had you brought this in a week after it happened they probably would have done all of the work free of charge with an apology.

In their mind you drove 5017 miles and anywhere along the line something could have happened that was driver fault or road conditions or some external factor that was not directly their fault that caused this leak. For them to justify a full cost of replacement when it had been driven so far was not something they would have felt responsible for.

Ultimately your father in law could have taken this to another dealership and had them check for the problem in the first couple hundred miles of driving and that dealership could have called your dealership to pay for the repair as a result of the problem stemming from their tech.

I would highly doubt that any other dealership for any brand of car would agree its entirely their fault after 5017 miles were put on the car before a complaint was brought to their attention.

Would you expect a full refund for drinking a half bottle of pepsi before you realized you actually ordered coke?

i agree with you that years of purchasing and referring should have overshadowed the problem but i think your timing is what presented the main feeling of not having to fully cover it.

edit: i also had very poor customer service with my first bmw and swore id never buy one again as a result - i had an opportunity to help out a friends client who happened to be a sales manager at one of the bmw dealerships in az here. he told me he could change my opinion and make it right for me. He succeeded and I am back on board the roundel romance train.

may not be worth burning a bridge over in all honesty but i completely support your decision as a consumer to be frustrated!

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by Singletrack

So my friends, I'd like to share with you a little story about horrible customer service...

Of course you should do whatever you think is right, but if it were me, I'd probably still buy cars from them. Just get them serviced elsewhere.

Service is where new car dealers make their money. Not from sales.

Since you've had a multi-year, multi-purchase relationship, why burn that bridge.

Trust me. When it gets back to the GM that they have a loyal sales customer who has given up on their service department, there will be a back-behind-the-barn meeting.

Don't ever ask about it. Just enjoy.

I'd call the sales guy back and tell him you overreacted in regard to your purchase decisions - but not your service decisions.

Bruce

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Singletrack

That's exactly why I'm moving on - too much drama. This isn't the first time they've screwed up either. I've had multiple issues with them not doing the proper service items on the M3.

Moving on is actually the ticket I've moved on and I am out $700- on something that I know for certain was not my fault ... as mkoesel so wisely said ... "in the end all works out loose some win some"

It actually happen to me loosing some and winning some ... when I traded my Z4 in for my now M3 I told my story to the Sales Manager at the same Dealership where I purchased my Z4 then my M3, he took an additional $700- off the quoted M3 price ... so something to be said about ...

"in the end all works out loose some win some"

now this took care of the $700- however, still leaves a bath taste in my mouth on how I was treated at the US dealership.

[M3Now!]

Originally Posted by Doctor J

+1

Loyalty is dead in todays world. Nobody gives a sh!t about anyone anymore.

Get used to it OP. I would buy a dealership and run it yourself if you want to be treated like a king

As a general statement, understand why you would say that. But my experience with customer service this year (just as an example) has been about 90% positive, with some of it spectacularly so.

The bad 10% have been the aberration, and it's been more idiocy than just lack of caring. Maybe it's a Texas thing (and no, I'm not from here, not trying to imply Texas = superior)?

Cheers

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by M3Now!

As a general statement, understand why you would say that. But my experience with customer service this year (just as an example) has been about 90% positive, with some of it spectacularly so.

The bad 10% have been the aberration, and it's been more idiocy than just lack of caring. Maybe it's a Texas thing (and no, I'm not from here, not trying to imply Texas = superior)?

Cheers

Quite true what you are saying I give you that it's the 10% that can turn into a 90% stupidity that leaves a bad taste in a fellows mouth ... I am sure you agree. As an example ....

In 2000 I ordered a Mercedes M Class as my company car. I drove my wife's 300 Series AMG to the same dealership since the A/C was not working. I knew fairly well say 90% sure what it needed to get fixed (a simple fuse) so I ask the service manager for help. The outside temperature was nearing 100 F. The service manager simply said sorry we can only take you mid next week (this was a Monday). Well I gently reminded him I am a steady costumer purchased several cars here and have a M Class on order right now, I added that I am not very happy with what he told me for a very simple check and fix.

The Service Manager simply replied "I don't care and we can only take you next week" Needless to say, I drove across town and the issue was resolved straight away by none other then the service manager at that dealership. Needless to say I canceled my M Class order at the other dealership and re-orderd it were I got service with a smile.

As I learned later when I picked up my downpayment cheque the service manager was fired.

I find in most cases that people forget who the customer is, in some cases they behave as if they are doing you a favour something not right here.